“Doesn’t Look Good”: Charles Leclerc Snapped Back to “Melancholic” Reality as Ferrari’s Expectations Get Thwarted After Embarrassing Duel

What a fall from the heavens has it been for Ferrari this year. Well, the same can also be said about the last decade as well for them. But specifically, even looking just over a year ago, the team has lost its grip on all fronts! We saw Charles Leclerc go head-to-head with Max Verstappen only a year ago! Ferrari has come from competing alongside the Red Bulls in several rounds of the 2022 season to now competing with the Haas. And here we are not implying that Haas is slow on pace. Instead of being the second-fastest car on the grid, Ferrari is degrading itself.

In the Miami GP, after a fresh weekend in Baku, the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were outpaced by the Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, respectively. For Tifosi, this didn’t sound too bad. However, the flipping point for the fans was Leclerc’s failure to overtake the Haas of Kevin Magnussen. And subsequently, seeing Max Verstappen’s double overtake on both of the Ferrari-powered cars was infuriating for them. This double overtake and the duel highlighted the lack of pace on the SF-23.

Amid the struggling times of Ferrari, Leo Turrini lashes out at the team and hopes for a better weekend in the home race. Also, the next round, i.e., Imola. In The Rest of the Carlino, quoted by Formula Passion, Turrini expresses his thoughts, saying, “Poor Ferrari, all we have left is Imola. In Florida Charles had an exhausting and embarrassing duel with Magnussen’s Haas. Net of the result in Miami, by the end of the month we will know if Ferrari can aspire to some partial success in this melancholic 2023.” 

“But, honestly, it doesn’t look good. In the upcoming Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the Reds will present technical innovations that represent the spring bet of the staff led by Fred Vasseur.”

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The team undoubtedly needs to improve in many other areas, and the slowing pace is only one of them. Finding extra speed just makes the team’s tire degradation problem worse, making it a troublesome issue to balance.

The struggles of Charles Leclerc serve as a wake-up call

The battle between Charles Leclerc and Kevin Magnussen wasn’t anybody’s bingo card this year. K-Mag qualified P4 and served quite a challenge to Leclerc, reportedly forcing him to lose over 10 seconds. This didn’t gel well with the Tifosi, as they considered Haas holding up the Ferrari absolutely unacceptable.

Stefano Mancini writes in La Stampa and is quoted by Formula Passion over this incident, saying, “For Cavallino it is a hellish day. Developments in Miami have no effect. Or if they have it, it’s negative. Leclerc spends his time on the track dueling with Magnussen. With the same engine, the Rossa suffers the Haas, and it is not a good sign.”

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The duel with Haas served as a reality check for Frederic Vasseur’s colorful and hopeful views. If the pace of development continues its downward spiral, the coming seasons will only become more hellish for Ferrari.